FOOD FOR THOUGHT: WHY WE REGISTER

I don’t have enough hobbies.

Following the mantra of “grassroots organizing,” I set up shop at 3 different sites to hunt for new voters: Homeboy Industries on Friday, the Westside Costco on Saturdays and St. Augustine’s Catholic Church on Sundays.

I don’t need volunteers, infrastructure or permission as long as I’m on the public sidewalk. With one rickety TV tray, a folding chair, two clipboards with forms I pick up at the post office, and some hand outs I made which compare Obama vs. McCain views on major issues – I’m in business. In a few hours I get anything from 5-25 people to stop by. Most are re-registering because they’ve moved. The rest are voting for the first time in their lives.

Yes, I’m a Obama supporter but I choose to make mine a non-partisan table. Because of this I’ve registered Republicans, Independents, Libertarians and many Decline to State. If they ask I give them the Obama pitch. But first I want to them register as they see fit. The next month will be a wild ride. Some will change their minds every day up until November 4th. That’s the beauty of democracy.

An old Balkan immigrant (who is not a citizen) asked me what I got paid for doing this. When I told him nothing, he laughed, patted my shoulder and walked off. I have wondered why I do it, especially after the rare crank mouths off to me against Obama, or declares that it’s useless to vote, why should I register? I’ve figured out my answer after this weekend: I do it because people have a story to tell that they will only share at this moment. They’re angry, scared, hopeful, resigned, inspired, baffled, but engaged in a conversation about a government that they thought they had no part in. They share bits of their story with me as they sign that registration form.

I’m a sucker for good stories and this week I heard from:

• a Mexican immigrant who just took the oath as a citizen but has been working so hard he didn’t have time to register

• an Iraq War vet who was homeless but now has a residence

• an old couple in their 80s who moved from their home to an assisted living facility but couldn’t remember the address

• an ex-gangbanger who said he can’t read or write but really wants to vote

• a lovey-dovey young couple who filled out the forms as if they were filing a marriage license

• a parolee who couldn’t register but asked to keep a form so he could fill it out as soon as he was eligible

• a woman who filled out the info for her husband and made him sign right there because she said he procrastinates.

Folks, this is the best show and only I get to watch it. It’s frustrating and folksy. Some people just want to vent but not vote. Still, I get many thanks, thumbs up and even handshakes. One guy I signed up on his way into Costco brought me a soda and hotdog on the way back to his car. He thought I might be hungry. I was.

You have until October 20th to register to vote on November 4th. If you can’t find a table like mine on the sidewalk, you can get a voter registration form at your local post office to fill out and mail. Or you can now register online (in California) at:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/elections_vr.htm

If you don't receive materials within two weeks contact (in Los Angeles):

Dean Logan, Registrar - Recorder/LA County Clerk
(562) 466-1310 Phone
(800) 815-2666 (LA County Only)
E-Mail: voterinfo@rrcc.co.la.ca.us

This election is probably the most important in decades. If you don’t want to vote for either Presidential candidate, still register and vote in the state and local elections.

Not voting is still voting for the status quo. And you lose.

CUCINA POVERA

In studying the world cuisines, I’ve learned that most cultures have 2 cuisines: 1/ food of the rich classes and 2/ food of the poorer or peasant classes. The Italians call the latter “cucina povera” – a kind of cooking that consists of very few basic ingredients and was rarely written down in recipe books since most peasants couldn’t read or write. These were the same people who grew and harvested the food for nobles and the rich. They cooked elaborate dishes in wealthy kitchens, even though they themselves could not partake of this food.

Ironically, cucina povera often turned out to be the healthier diet and was passed up the social line as servants shared their humble meals with the master’s children. The children came to regard this as every day comfort food. In the Americas, we inherited the tradition. Think of red rice and beans dished out in the best New Orleans restaurants, grits, collard greens, refried beans on bread, potato soup, pasta fagioli, egg flower soup. The food of former slaves, famished immigrants and struggling sharecroppers is part of our national identity now.

The rich dishes of the upper crust gave them kidney stones and gout and sent them to “take the cure” in Bath, Baden Baden or Aix les Bains. Manuel labor kept any excess in the poor man’s diet in check. There was rarely any excess.

As a writer, my social class rises and falls constantly. My regular diet has stayed at the “povera” level now out of choice. It controls my weight and budget. The biggest surprise is that I don’t feel that this food is “poor” anymore. It turns out to be actually very healthy and I regularly crave some of these “poor” dishes.

My weekly habit now is to boil chicken thighs, backs, legs, wings. I strain and skim the broth and freeze it in quart containers. The meat goes into salads, sandwiches, noodles. One of my favorite quick lunches is a piece of boiled chicken, salted and peppered (skin and all) with a tomato or green salad. One quart of the broth is used in a weekly soup I make which is the staple of my diet – Sorrel Soup. I learned the recipe as a poor, broke student in Paris. Some version of it is on the menu of many restaurants as well as on many working wives’ dinner tables in France.

Sorrel is a hard herb to find since Americans aren’t used to its tart flavor. I grow mine in a pot outside my back door. You’ll find many bourgeois apartments in Paris with a sorrel plant in a pot on their balconies.

This is the quickest way I know to make this soup. I even cheat -- using dehydrated mashed potatoes. No lumpy potatoes here.


SORREL SOUP
1 medium onion, small dice
1 cup sorrel leaves (remove the hard stem)
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 cup milk or half-and-half
2 tbls butter
salt and pepper to taste
a dash of sugar or sweetener
2 tbls chopped parsley or chives

Sweat the onion. Add the sorrel leaves until they “melt”. Pour in one cup of chicken broth. Stir. Add mashed potatoes. Stir again, adding enough of the remaining chicken broth to make a medium thick soup. Puree with an immersion blender until it is smooth and velvety like a blended pea soup. Add a touch more of milk or broth if soup is too thick. Return to heat and add butter, stirring until it melts evenly. Season to taste.

If your sorrel leaves are especially tart, you may want to add a tiny bit of sweetener.

If you don’t mind the extra calories, garnish the soup with a little sour cream or crème fraiche and toasted nuts.

I eat this soup at least twice a week.